Scottsdale teachers get to pick: Give up bonus pay or see layoffs

Scottsdale Unified School District teachers have been asked to vote on whether to return some of their performance pay to the district in order to save jobs.

The district is trying to close a budget gap of more than $9 million and has been considering eliminating half of its art, music and physical-education teachers in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Then, the district found out that it would be receiving $2.9 million more than it anticipated in Proposition 301 money. Prop. 301 is a voter-approved state initiative that funnels Arizona tax dollars for teacher performance pay. The rebounding economy has caused an increase in sales-tax money collected by the state.

Teachers get the money in a lump sum. The unexpected $2.9 million this year would mean a payment of about $1,900 that the teachers would receive in August 2014.

That compares with a payment of about $400 the teachers will receive this August, based on sales tax from last year.

On Tuesday, the district’s 1,570 teachers were called into meetings and told about the vote on the plan, in which they would be asked to return the $1,900 to the district.

That would save about 40 teaching jobs and eliminate a proposed 1 percent pay cut for teachers, according to Jeff Thomas, associate superintendent of the district. It would also mean there would be no increase in health-insurance payments for teachers, he said.

At least 70 percent of teachers must vote “yes” for the plan to move forward. If that happens, the district will then send layoff notices to about 25 teachers on Friday.

If the vote is “no,” the district will send about 140 notices because, in addition to eliminating the art, music and PE teachers, Scottsdale is also considering increasing class sizes to save money, which would mean cutting classroom teachers. The notices must be sent to any teacher whose position might be cut.

The vote, which began Wednesday and continues today, is being conducted online. The results will be known either late today or early Friday, Thomas said.

Last week, the Scottsdale Education Association, a teachers group, sent surveys to teachers asking them for input on the idea. The survey was not an official vote.

Rony Assali, a math teacher and president of the SEA, told the governing board Tuesday night that there was no clear consensus from the survey and that the vote should be delayed.

On Wednesday, the SEA executive committee posted a message on its public Facebook page asking teachers to abstain from voting.

A budget committee is working on the cuts, and the SEA executive committee favors waiting for a final recommendation before voting.

“In the end, teachers have to vote their conscience, but SEA believes that the right thing to do at this point is to abstain on the district’s plan for Prop. 301,” the posting said.

Abstaining will be counted as a “no” vote.

Some teachers have complained that by directly asking them to vote, the administration evaded the meet-and-confer process of contract negotiations.

Andrew Morrill, president of the Arizona Education Association, was meeting with the SEA on Wednesday and was unavailable for comment on whether this is the first time teachers have been asked to do this in Arizona.

Thomas said that if the vote is “yes,” the teachers’ sacrifice would be “a short-term patch” because the district is counting on having voters pass an override in November that would restore funding.

Other items on the budget-cut consideration list include assistant principals, psychologists, school nurses and librarians, plus a pay cut for administrative and classified staff.

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